Saturday, June 02, 2007

odessa inspired tank top

i love the odessa hat (http://www.magknits.com/feb06/patterns/odessa.htm) so much that i decided to make a tank top with the same stitch pattern.

here it is laying on my red sheets:


here it is on...i'm trying hard to get a good shot of the whole thing, but that didn't work well, so...

...i set the timer and set it on something...sorry for my roommate's colorful socks drying in the back...i'm in the bathroom...haha

here's a fuzzy close-up of the stitch:


the yarn is king tut egyptian cotton and it was knit on size 9 needles.

to make your own, definitely do some swatching to figure out how many stitches to cast on. round that number to the nearest multiple of 10. using circular needles, cast on that number of stitches and knit one inch of 3x2 ribbing.

after that start with the odessa stitch pattern: *ssk, k6, yo, k2, repeat from * continue until you reach the end. knit that until the whole piece measures approximately 13" or whatever length you like best.

at this point, you'll be working the front and back separately. work the front for 2 and a half inches of 3x2 ribbing and then the back for 1" of ribbing. sew together the separation you get between the front and back pieces at the armpit.

at the edge of the front of the tank top (the side with the longer edge) pick up 6 stitches. knit the straps in the following: row 1: * sl1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1 *, row 2: *sl1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1 * (so basically 1x1 ribbing with the first stitch slipped). repeat rows 1 and 2 until the strap is 15" unstretched. repeat again for a second strap.

finally sew the straps on to the back section of the tank top (try it on to see where will work most comfortable and cover up straps underneath) and tuck in all your stray yarn pieces.

let me know if that doesn't make any sense or if you have any questions!

thanks for looking!

z